Black History month: Who inspires you?

This month is Black History Month 2018, and we are continuing our series asking members of the BAME network from around the business about black historical figures who mean something to them. The latest is a dramatic tale from Lesley Davis, HR Programme Lead.

Cuffy, by Lesley Davis

One of the many people that I am inspired by is Cuffy. Cuffy was a slave who was stolen from West Africa and made to work on the plantations in the then Dutch colony of Guyana (where my mum comes from). Cuffy is a national hero because in 1763 he staged a rebellion with 2500 slaves who fought off the slavers for a whole year.

Around the time that I researched this, I had watched a series of films/dramas about slavery (The Underground, 12 Years a Slave, Django Unchained). It seemed as if our ancestors were helpless, had no life, no hope, no self-worth.

Learning about the uprising that took place in the very town that my family are from completely reframed my thinking about slavery as it made me proud to know that someone, somewhere had the courage to fight back against this barbaric treatment.